Three HTC Android Phones Heading to Android this Year

The world's biggest market, China, has largely been ignored by Android. Partly due to China's unique (read: difficult) phone standards, there has been little movement in preparing an Android phone for launch. This is all about to change. The HTC Hero, HTC Click, & HTC Magic are all headed to the shores of the Orient--this year.

The HTC Hero and HTC Click will both be re-branded under the Dopod brand (apparently a common occurrence for HTC phones in China), with the Hero being available starting in August for ~$820 (5,600 Yuan) and the supposedly low-end Click being available in Q4 2009 for ~$500 (3,400 Yuan). The HTC Magic will be available via China Mobile.

The price is obviously ridiculous, but hey, China has always done things differently. We're excited to see if Android will pick up in China. What do you guys think?

You guys are a little behind:
HTC Magic already launched a while ago here with the China Mobile version of Android (see O-phone). This version has 3G, but does not have Wifi. HTC is always called Dopod here. HTC carries Wifi, which mobile phone carriers do not allow here as it prevents them from making money off of GPRS or 3G.
The price is not that strange as you buy the phones branded, but not with contract.
In Europe, non locked, non contract HTC phones are way more expensive (think 7000 rmb).
The problem with Android in China is not the phone standards but the carriers. They want full control (which is why the iphone is not here yet, and if it comes, the app store will be crippled). On top of that Android was not designed to handle chinese characters.

To conclude: Android is here, but in a strictly controlled form due to chinese lust to make money and obsession with control of anything from outside.